Short Summary

The veteran Polish driver, Sobieslaw Zasada, continues to hold a narrow lead in the London to Sydney car rally.

Description

The veteran Polish driver, Sobieslaw Zasada, continues to hold a narrow lead in the London to Sydney car rally. Zasada, driving a red Porsche Carrera, has won the European Rally Championship twice and now could be set for another major victory.

SYNOPSIS: The remaining competitors in the gruelling 20-thousand miles (32-thousand kilometres event) arrived in Butterworth, in Malaysia by ferry after being shipped from Madras, India. Originally, 79 cars, left the Opera House at London's Covent Garden. Early predictions were that only ten vehicles would reach the finishing line, Sydney's Opera House.

The next leg was the run from Butterworth in north-west Malaysia to Singapore .....a distance of 725 miles (980 kilometres).

This leg was started by the leader, Sobieslaw Zasada, who kept the time advantage over his rivals that he'd built up in the London to Madras section.

Next to start was number 49, a Mercedes 280 E, driven by the British team of Anthony Fowkes and Peter O'Gorman.

The Butterworth-Singapore run took the cars over some of Malaysia's rugged and narrow roads. It was a section of the race in which five cars were disqualified for various reasons.

In Singapore, the fleet was welcomed with enthusiasm. By then nearly thirty cars had been forced to drop out since leaving London.

First into Singapore, was the Polish champion in car number 72....and for him a reception for a brilliant competitor.

The remaining cars soon followed Zasada to share the festivities. All five teams who were disqualified have appealed and their protests were being considered by race organisers.

After Singapore, the rally crosses more oceans to eventually land in Fremantle, Western Australia. With Zasada hanging on to a narrow lead the race is wide open and will depend on which car can survive best the tough Australian outback.